Clothes-rack



(No Modl.)

' J. R. COBERLBY.

CLOTHES RACK.

No. 581,269. l i y Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

wl 19h31.

I l .'a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES R. COBERLEY, OF INDEPENDNCE, KANSAS.

CLOTH ES-RACK.

a SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,269, dated April 27, 1897.

Application iiled J une 2 9, l 8 9 6.

To all whom t mf//z/ concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES R. COBEELEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Independence, in lthe county of Montgomery and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Rack, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a clothes rack or drier, and has for its object to provide a simple and convenient construction and arrangement of parts wherein the drying-rods are adapted for extension at either side of the frame independently of the other to provide for using one or both sides of the rack at a time, the device being so'constructed as to adapt it for use as a substitute for a wardrobe.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will` be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective of a rack constructed in accordance with my invention, the clothes-holding frames being shown extended. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the clothes-holding frames folded.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures of the drawings.

l designates side standards connected by upper and lower cross-bars 2 and 3 and provided with bases or feet 4L.

Duplicate sets of clothes-holding frames are arranged at opposite sides of the plane of the frame, and therefore it will be necessary herein to describe the construction upon one side of the frame only.

Each clothes-holding frame is constructed of a single blank of wire or rod to form a longitudinal clothes-rod 5 and terminal arms 6, provided at their extremities with eyes 7, which interlock with fixed bearing or screw eyes 8 on the standards. The swinging arms by which each clothes-frame is connected with the supporting-frame may be of different lengths, as shown, said arms increasing consecutively in length from the uppermost to the lowermost frames, and loops 9 are formed at the angles of the clothes-frames, at the intersection of the body portions or drying-rods with the terminal arms, and contigu- Serial No. 597,379. (No model.)

ous drying-frames are connected for simultaneous movement by means of links lO, which are provided with terminal eyes to interlock with said loops 0. Furthermore, the drying-rods are preferably connected at intermediate points by a series of links 1l to prevent deflection thereof by the weight of the supported articles.

Various means may be employed for holding the series of clothes-frames at either side of the plane of the supporting-frame in its elevated or operative position7 but in the construction illustrated said means consist of supporting-hooks l2, loosely connected by means of interlocking eyes 13 with the upper cross-bar of the supporting-frame and adapted to engage one of the intermediate dryingrods, as shown in Fig. 1. When these supporting-hooks are disengaged from the drying-rods, the clothes-frames may be folded approximately parallel with the supportingframe, as indicated in Fig. 2.

In order to strengthen the frame, l preferably employ tension rods or braces 14, connectin g the side standards between the planes of the upper and lower cross-bars 2 and 3.

The advantages of the improved construction of rack consist in its simplicity and the fact that either series of clothes-frames may be employed without aecting the other, and hence by folding one series of clothes-frames the rack may be arranged close to a wall to avoid projecting inconveniently into the room. Furthermore, the rack is adapted for use as a wardrobe upon which clothes may be allowed to hang while awaiting use, dust `being excluded by a light covering of any suitable material, such as that used under similar conditions to protect recently-laundered clothes. Furthermore, the lowermost clothes-frame of each series is mounted upon the end standards of the frame at a distance in excess of its width from the bottom of the supporting-frame to adapt the clothes-frames to fold downwardly when released, whereby either series of frames may be folded independently of the other without affecting the stability of the structure, and the supporting-hooks by which the series of clothesframes are held in their extended or operative positions are arranged at the top of the supporting-frame and engage intermediate IOO clothes-frames, whereby, when disengaged from the clothes-frames or hooks, they depend approximately in the planes of the clothes-frames, while the latter fold into the space above the bases or feet of the standards.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacriiicing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- A portable clothes-rack having a supporting-frame provided with single vertical end standards, a connected series of clothesframes pivotally mounted upon the standards at each side of the frame, the lowermost clothes-frame beingmounted at a distance in excess of its width from the bottom of the supporting-frame to adapt the clothes-frames to fold downwardly when released, the connections between contiguous clothes-frames of a series consisting of links, and supportinghooks mounted upon the supporting-frame at its top, and adapted to engage one of the intermediate drying-frames to suspend either y 

